Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with iphone and recording

iPhone Recording Options

cjorgensen — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 07:57:11 -0800

I have a need to record phone conversations that occur on an iPhone. What are my options? This can be software or hardware. I am looking for the best quality and prefer the expense to be reasonable. To preempt any ethics debate these conversations would be informed consent interviews. I'd like the solution to be fairly easy to use. I have read the previous questions, but the landscape has changed, so I am hoping there are better options available now.

I want to save this moment forever

decathecting — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 06:08:50 -0800

I'm looking for phone apps that will allow me to easily and simply record sound and simultaneously back up the recording offsite (send it to email, save to a cloud server, etc.). I want to be able to hit a button on my phone that will start recording and automatically save that recording somewhere other than (or in addition to) in my phone's memory. I realize that the quality of the recording will mostly depend on the physical capabilities of the phone, but I'd like the recording to be as high-quality as possible. And I'd love to make a list of apps available for a wide variety of phones. If there is some way to do this on non-smartphones (i.e., by saving the message to voicemail or something), that would also be awesome.

I know these sorts of apps exist, because I've heard of people using them to record encounters with police, fights with significant others, etc., in which their phones ended up lost or destroyed, but the recordings were still accessible to them later. You would think I'd easily be able to find this on Google, but either it is hard to find, or I am terrible at Google. Thanks for your help!

iPhone voice memo lost to time.

SNWidget — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 08:21:53 -0800

My iPhone's Voice Memo app said it recorded a 21 minute interview, but when I pull the file, it's only 2 minutes long and 1.4 megs. Is the rest of it still on there, and how can I recover it? I sat down with an interview and popped on my iPhone's Voice Memo app like I have a 100 times before. I finished up, saw that it saved a voice memo that was 21 minutes long, and went on about my day.

I came home, popped open my iPhone in iExplorer (so that I can pull files directly from it) and found that one interview that was supposed to be 21 minutes long was only 2 minutes long. I looked at my iPhone again, and it still shows that it was 21 minutes long, but when I go to play it, it's only 2 minutes long.

I've checked the Apple Discussion boards, but I can only find issues referring to people recording and a 0 second file.

My phone thinks it recorded for 21 minutes, but it's only showing 2 minutes of talking. Is the rest of it on my phone somewhere? Is it lost to time? Why does my phone think it recorded so long when it only caught 2 minutes worth?

I'm on an iPhone 4s and using Windows 7 on my laptop.

Best way to record iPhone interviews on the cheap

letstrythis — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 15:47:57 -0800

Best solution for recording phone interviews. Here's my equipment: iPhone, MacBook, iPad. I'm a blogger, and I've been recording my interviews into a recording app on my iPad, or into garageband on my mac, using my iPhone on speakerphone. I'd prefer to not use speakerphone, as it cuts out and sounds like a walkie-talkie. I have an important interview coming up, and I'd like to up my game audio fidelity-wise without buying any other gear. What's my best solution?

Guitar -> ??? -> iPad -> audio files

ignignokt — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 12:35:24 -0800

What connection kit and software do you recommend for amp modeling and recording guitar on iOS? I'd like to plug the guitar into the connector, pick an amp, record stuff, then get the audio files either off the device or into other apps for mixing.

What's the best quality podcast recording solution under these circumstances?

lotusfeet — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 23:20:31 -0800

Starting a podcast (spoken word) and suddenly have the opportunity to interview the exact people I really shouldn't be "practicing" on. I'm a radiophile, want decent sound, but have no time to learn the technical side of sound recording before my interviews in a few days. Can I spend a little up front to make decent sound or do I just need to spend more? - Recording 1 interviewee and myself in a room. My voice can be faint.
- Would love to spend under $50 and had imagined going up to $200 when I actually know what I'm doing.
- Have a Macbook and an iPod
- Hope to do over-skype interviews in the future

(1) Sounds like iTalk is unreliable (previous threads) unless someone tells me otherwise I'll skip working something out with my iPod

(2) Will a $35 USB Logitec USB mic work? Or how expensive a USB mic would I have to get? (no mic jack in Macbooks)

(3) How does the cheapest mac-compatible digital sound recorder compare to just using an iPhone? (need a new phone anyway but was planning on waiting for the next version)

(4) What haven't I thought of?

It would be great if There Can Be Only One

Salvor Hardin — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 20:44:56 -0800

Help me figure out how to get the video capabilities of a Flip Ultra in a smartphone. I'm entering a masters in education program soon, and I'm supposed to buy a recording device capable of at least "60-90 minutes of high-quality video with sound", so I can record myself teaching. They strongly recommend the Flip Ultra.

However, I've been thinking I'd like to switch to a smartphone, so it would be nice if I could just buy a smartphone that can do what the Flip Ultra can do instead of a smartphone + a separate video recording device. Any recommendations?

I've been leaning towards an Android phone of some kind, b/c I like messing around with my devices, and the iPhone seems of annoyingly restrictive in that regard, but I'm pretty clueless about what's out there, and was hoping y'all could give me a leg up. Thanks!

Wind cover for iPhone?

Korou — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 14:44:00 -0800

I have been taking video with my iPhone 4 recently, but it's been windy so I get a lot of wind noise. What's the best way to go about reducing the wind noise, and/or how can I make a microphone cover/windscreen for the iPhone 4?

Off-camera Movie sound: How does it work?

drjimmy11 — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 21:05:16 -0800

Off-camera Movie sound: How does it work? So this seems like a really basic concept, and it's kind of embarrassing that I don't know this, but I can't find a definitive answer by googling.

When recording sound off-camera, are there different "speeds" of sound recording to match different frame rates? That is, does the audio recorder need to be set up differently to sync with 24fps, as opposed to 30fps?

I have heard people say this is the case, but I'm not sure if I understood properly. Part of me thinks it makes sense, but the other part of me thinks it's all the same speed, 24p just has a frame occur less often.

For the sake of an example, let's say I want to shoot 24p video on a Canon 7D and record audio on an iPhone with an external mic and pro-quality recording software, as mentioned in that other thread yesterday. I would use a slate and then sync it up in Final Cut later. I want to know if I need to set some "24p" setting on the recording software, or if I can just press "record" and it will sync up correctly later.

I want to know the answer for practical use, but I'm also interested in understanding the concepts behind it, so if you're a sound guy, fire away!

Help with iPhone recording applications

Lillitatiana — Tue, 04 May 2010 16:57:09 -0800

Which iPhone application is best at recording telephone conversations? I'm a journalist based in LA, and because I do a lot of interviews over the phone, I need a reliable iPhone application. I've liked Recorder, but during my last interview, the recording became inaudible after a blend of interference, overlapping files, and static took over. I deleted all the recorded files to (hopefully) prevent the overlap, but I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for other applications I should be using? I have another phoner coming up and I'm a little worried. (Oh, and I'm aware of the legal implications of telephone recording in different states, and I never record interviews without the other party's consent.)

Thank you!

Wireless DAW transport control without internet?

lukievan — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 19:32:27 -0800

I want to wirelessly control basic transport functions in my recording software without using an internet-based network or buying a Frontier Tranzport. Specifically, I'd like to use my iPhone 3G to connect to a local network that I will create, including a Mac G4 with OS 10.4.x and an Intel G5 with 10.4.11. How do I do this?

MacBook Voice Recording that's iPhone Playable?

ewiley28 — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 07:56:12 -0800

What’s a good hardware/software solution to be able to record my voice with my MacBook Pro such that I’m able to playback on my iPhone? I am studying for some professional exams and I'd like to record some of my notes/summaries/thoughts such that I can play them back on my iPhone while working out/driving/etc. The terms seem to general to get a good Google result, so I was hoping someone here had a thought as the best way and products to do this. An external mic sounds like a good idea from the information I have found, but haven't found any good recommendation for a certain one. And then, any thoughts on what software to use to record? Do I have to convert it somehow to play on the iPhone? I am willing to buy additional software. Basically, I'm looking for what hardware/software elements and process will allow me to succeed in my goals of recording myself speaking this information. Or better google words ;-)

Many iPhones, One recording?

davereed — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:14:39 -0800

Audio/mobile phone idea/question: I was at my kid's band concert recently, trying to record some of it for Grandma. I only thought of it after we got there so I was using my iPhone. Not a bad recorder, but it's hand held. It picks up me moving in my seat, people fidgeting, etc. Why isn't there an app/service where I could record the concert on my less-than-professional-equipment, and a bunch of OTHER Dads and Moms record the same thing from other vantage points (with other noise!) then put 'em all together subtract the noise and end up with a beautifull, clear, stereo recording. With the iphone's bluetooth/wifi/gps the iphones should be able to figure out where they are relative to each other. Is the doable? Am I nuts? Does it already exist?

How to record live music on my iphone 3GS?

skechada — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 13:19:23 -0800

What's the best hardware and app to use to record live (loud) music on my iphone 3GS? I play in a band a like to record our practices and live shows. I currently use a Boss Micro-BR, and while that's acceptable, I'd like to use my iphone if possible.

Ideally, I'd like to use a separate mic with an app like Fourtrack to do this. I specifically need a mic sensitivity adjustment, as anything we've tried to record so far has been WAY too loud and washed out in noise. Multitrack recording isn't necessary so if there's a single track recording app with mic sensitivity controls, that works too.

I've done some research in the app store and ask mefi, but it's far from clear what hardware/app combo would even work, let alone be ideal. Any pointers in the right direction are appreciated!

Record phone calls on iPhone 3Gs?

Bradley — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 12:15:03 -0800

Going from Treo to iPhone -- how do I record in-progress calls? I've had a nice app on my Treo the past few years called CallRec. It could even auto-record every single call (outgoing or incoming), locally to the Treo's SD card, then sync the WAV file to my laptop. If I can't figure out how to record calls on the iPhone within the next 3 weeks, as of today I'm thinking I'll need to go back to the Treo.

I travel a lot for work so I talk to my 4 year old on the phone a lot, and I love having his cute voice preserved forever. I also record presentations I do, counseling sessions that I pay for, voicemails I want to keep, etc.

I think voice recognition technology will catch up in a few years to where I'll be able to dump all these sound files into a program and have it spit out clean text on the other end.

Any ideas other than buying hardware to go between phone and headset? Any programmers want to tackle it? I'm enjoying the heck out of the iPhone after a week, have googled for 20+ hours to find the apps I need to replace Treo functionality, etc. Since this new 3Gs version has video recording and a voice recorder, I figured call recording would be a piece of cake. So far, no go. Thanks!!